Flodden, Kelso and Melrose

[low_delta]

A couple of days before we left for Scotland, I was doing a last check of the areas we were going to, to make notes on the things we wanted to see, or find new things. I had remembered a battlefield in the Borders area, that I thought might be interesting to see. It was over the border, into England, so it would have been cool to say we were in England, but there wasn't much to see at the battlefield, and it was a bit out of the way. I looked it up nonetheless.

It was the battle of Flodden. The name didn't ring a bell for me, but I read a little bit about it. It was a horrible defeat of the Scots by the English. Over ten thousand Scottish soldiers killed (and half that number or less of English), including much nobility, and the King himself. Gone with the king were the last hopes of Scottish sovereignty, so it was one of the most important events in Scottish history.

Now it turns out they were having an anniversary. There was much being made of how little was being made of the battle. There was no big commemoration, not even a visitors' center. Until very recently, there's nothing on the site but a stone cross and bronze plaque. This year, they put up a few interpretive signs, discussing the battle. Anyway, I wondered when the battle had taken place. September 8th... *looks at calendar* ...that's the day we're going to be in that area! What year? 15... 1513? We would be there on the five hundredth anniversary of the battle - to the day! By sheer coincidence. So, yes, we would go there.

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Most of the people there were Scottish, of course. This man was one of three who attended in costume. One girl was walking around with the flag draped over her shoulders. Scotland was having a nationwide referendum on independence from the United Kingdom. I assume Flodden had significance for many, relating to the secession.

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They've begun an archaeological dig, to discover burial pits. Possibly as many as fifteen thousand people were killed there. Bones can be seen here, but they're in the tilled topsoil, and are animal bones, likely fairly recent ones.

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TV crews were there, doing video and interviews. My dad and I were interviewed for a newspaper.
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/clan-chiefs-gather-to-pay-respect-to-flodden-dead-1-3083131

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The view from the top (including an ITV van).

The battle began at 3:30 in the afternoon. There was a battlefield walk to be commenced at that time, but we couldn't stay around for it, so we weren't there at the 500th anniversary to the minute.

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From a nearby cemetery.

Kelso Abbey
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We went through Kelso, and stopped at Kelso Abbey. It is the least-preserved of the four abbeys in the area. It was begun around 1128. In the early 1500's, it fell increasingly under attack from English forces, until the mid 1500's when it was target of a concerted effort to destroy the abbeys. It was derelict by the late 1500's. It's stones were carried off for building materials, over the next couple hundred years. Kelso Abbey is free, and you can apparently get in, but it didn't seem open when we were there. Not sure whether or why this was.

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Melrose Abbey
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Then Melrose Abbey. It costs money to get in, and they were closed by the time we got there.

Melrose Abbey was active in about the same timeframe as Kelso Abbey, but had been destroyed more often.

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Melrose is a pretty little town. It seemed touristy, moreso than the nearby Galashiels.

Comments

[ravenfeather.livejournal.com]

Kelso abbey is MORE derelict than Melrose abbey? There is less of it, yes, but the stones look like they are in much better shape.

Both are beautiful.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

Well, I did say "least-preserved." There's very little left. :-)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelso_Abbey
Also Google (https://www.google.com/search?q=Kelso+Abbey&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=Dnm&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=K9lUUtzhIvGq4AOxoIHwDg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=622&dpr=1)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melrose_Abbey
Google (https://www.google.com/search?q=Kelso+Abbey&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=Dnm&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=K9lUUtzhIvGq4AOxoIHwDg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=622&dpr=1#q=melrose+abbey&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&safe=off&tbm=isch)

[hinterland.livejournal.com]

Awesome timing that you were there for the five hundredth anniversary of the battle. Thank you for sharing your trip.

[sun--king.livejournal.com]

From the Guardian ~ "Flodden defined Borders culture more than any other event, ...A classic example is seen at Selkirk, where 68 men set out to fight with James IV but only one returned, a man called Fletcher, who, exhausted and speechless, simply dropped the flag he was carrying in his despair at the slaughter he had witnessed.

"Every year, we recreate that event during Selkirk's Border Riding ceremony when a lone flag-carrier walks down the main street and then slowly lowers his standard in the town centre. The town is absolutely jam-packed when that ceremony is held."

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/31/battle-of-flodden-scottish-history-500

Your timing was impeccable :)

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed this post a lot, Kevin. And when I clicked on the article and heard the piper playing in the video, I was very moved. What a coincidence that you and your dad could be there on the 500th anniversary.
The old abbeys are another of my passions. We visited Tintern Abbey in Wales last year and your pictures reminded me very much of Tintern.

The grey skies contribute to the atmosphere...

(The referendum on Scottish independence will be held next year. They don't expect it to pass but who knows. They may surprise us.)

[ravenfeather.livejournal.com]

When we lived in Germany we would get in the car and go find castles. Some of the structures that I enjoyed the most were the partial walls. It was easier to see how they lived without the buildings - just foundations inside the castle walls sometimes, and without roofs. Very peaceful with grass growing, just like your pictures.

There was one (can't remember where) that had all outer walls intact, a few structures inside (the chapel - with no roof) and one of the watch towers still in good enough shape to climb to the top of. They would hold a medieval festival there once a year that we really enjoyed.

[mummm.livejournal.com]

The gray skies sure fit the mood of the *celebration* of that battlefield. It's incredible that there was not more done there... but perhaps because it was such a loss? Your timing was incredible!

What a shame about those Abbeys.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

We also went to Culloden. That was another loss, though probably not quite as significant. There's a huge visitors' center and museum, with a large exhibit detailing the events leading up to the battle, shown in the perspectives of both sides.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

In this area, the skies were mostly cloudy. As you can see, I was able to make the clouds look like something. And there were occasional sunny patches. Fortunately, the sky wasn't a totally flat grey, like it was in the morning at Forth Bridge.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

The photos are coming slowly. Maybe I can get into day 3 by this weekend?

[mummm.livejournal.com]

Hummm.... well maybe a matter of money or the location not wanting to advertise a lot?

[promiseoftin.livejournal.com]

What beautiful ruins. And how neat you and your dad got interviewed!

Flodden, Kelso

[likethebeer.livejournal.com]

Being there for the 500-year anniversary - what an amazing coincidence.

Given the experience we had with our 100th anniversary of Taliesin, I can see not really talking/thinking about it until a year & a half ahead of time. Of course, from what you were writing here (and from the article you provided the link to), it's too bad someone higher up didn't do much.

The Abbeys are really neat. And the rolling hills remind me of home. I think that's just because they are rolling country farmland, like our area.

Re: Flodden, Kelso

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

There's a private group called Flodden 1513. They really didn't have much to work with, I guess. There are no facilities, except local community centers, and such, so they put up temporary exhibitions, and gave talks - that kind of thing.

Re: Flodden, Kelso

[likethebeer.livejournal.com]

I can see that. Still - it's so neat that you were there that exact day.